Trolley-retriever.



W. C. STARKEY.

TROLLEY RETRIEVER.

APPLICATION men NOV. 21. 1914.

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w. (3. STARKEY. TROLLEY RETRIEVER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 21, 19M.

1 fififi, 1280 Patented Apr. 9, 1918.

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W. C. STARKEY.

TROLLEY RETRIEVER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-21.1914.

1,262, 12,, Patented Apr. 9, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4- WILLIAM C. STAEKEY, 0F MANSFIELD,- OI-IIQ.

" TEOLLEY-RETRIEVER.

resales.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 3, 1918.

Application filed November 21, 1914. Serial No. 873,248.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM C. S'mnnnr, a citizen of the United States, residing at- Mansfield, in the county of Richland and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trolley-Ret 'ievers, of which the following is a true, clear, and exact specification.

My invention relates to trolley retrievers and has more particular reference to improvements in trolley retrievers which operate under abnormal conditions to pull or draw the trolley pole down clear of the overhead system.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an improved trolley retriever of this character which will be simple, durable and reliable in construction, and efiective and efficient in operation.

Other objects of my invention will appear as follows.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is a view in front elevation of the trolley tender embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of said trolley retriever.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged central vertical sectional view of the trolley tender on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view on the line ll of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3, part of the casing being shown in elevation to illustrate the operation of the restoring mechanism.

Fig. 6 is a detail fragmentary view of the upper portion of the structure shown in Fig.

the casing being in section.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary detail view from the under side of the parts shown in Fig. 6, showing the rebound lug and the latch spring.

Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of the latch restoring device which follows the scroll, and

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary detail showing the way in which the cover of the casing is removably secured in place.

The trolley tender or retriever which I have illustrated in the drawings and which embodies my invention is of the type which is mounted upon the end of a car and is connected with the trolley pole through the medium of the usual trolley rope. This device keeps the trolley rope yieldingly taut, so as to follow, in a sense, the various movements or fluctuations of the trolley pole. In the event that the trolley pole fluctuates abnormally, as for instance, when the trolley pole jumps the trolley wire, the trolley retriever instantly responds to this abnormal condition and operates to pull the trolley pole down preferably close to the top of the car and thereby prevent thetrolley pole from striking and damaging the overhead sys tem. This structure is arranged so that it may be repeatedly restored by the conductor to its predetermined operating condition. In the structure shown in the drawings the various parts and operating mechanisms are preferably inclosed within a suitable casing or inclosure, the main portionA of which, as shown clearly in Figs. 1,2, and 3, has an outstanding central boss fen-projection 1. This boss has a couple of diametrically opposite peripheral lugs or projections 52,

which are adapted to be passed into corre- I spondingly formed notches or slots 3 in a supporting plate or member 4. The supporting member or plate 4 is intended to be fastened permanently by means of bolts, or otherwise, to the car, and the trolley retriever is constructed so that it may be conveniently removed or interchanged; the

plate or supporting member lis, therefore,

constructed so as to accommodate the boss or projection 1 on the casing member A. This boss or projection is inserted into a sort of a depression in the center of the supporting plate e, the lugs 2 being passed through the slots 3, as before mentioned, and the casing A is then given a partial rotation. This brings the lugs 2 into engagement with. undercut lugs or socket members 5 on the supporting plate, and holds the trolley tender firmly in position but capable of being readily removed by simply rotating it slightly in the reverse direction and withdrawing it from engagement with the supporting plate. In order to prevent accidental displacement of the trolley tender with respect to the supporting plate, 1 provide a lock for holding the trolley tender against rotation. This lock is preferably in the form of a vertically shiftable or movable pin 6, having bearings in two lugs 7, formed on the casing A. The inner end of this pin or lock 6 is adapted to enter a correspondingly formed hole or socket 8 in the supporting plate 4, the hole being positioned so that the "om cannot enter it until the lugs 2 have been rotated into engagement with the undercut lugs 5 of the supporting plate. This pin is yieldingly held in position by a suitable spring 9 and is provided with a knob or handle 10 at its upper end for the convenient manipulation thereof. The cover B of the casing removably fits a flanged rim or annular shoulder 11 formed on the edge of the casing portion The casing has a number of outstanding lugs or ears 11 (see Figs. 1, 2, and 9) preferably three in number, which lie close to the inner face or wall of the casing. Preferably, all of these lugs orears, except one, are provided with undercut slots 12, which are adapted to be engaged by short instanding pins on the cover. By placing the cover in position on the flanged rim 11 of the casing and rotating it slightly, these points 13 are brought into engagement with the slots 12 and removably hold the cover in position. One of the ears or lugs l1 does not have a slot 12 but, instead, is provided with a threaded bolt hole into which a screw 14,

' passing through the cover B from the outside, is threaded. This construction provides a verysiinple fastening arrangement for the cover and makes it possible to re move or replace the cover quickly and conveniently, since there is only one screw 14, which locks the cover in position and which need be removed. The cover also has a comparatively large, substantially square openlng B in its wall (Fig. 2), wherethrough the trolley rope R, indicated by dotted lines, passes to reach the service drum, as will be later described. The casing portion A carries a main or central shaft 15, which extends through the casing and cover from back to front. The inner end of this shaft 15 is securely anchored to the casing A. In fact.

it is preferably formed integral with the' boss or projection 1 of said casing and rises centrally therefrom. The boss 1 preferably has a tapered depression or socket in its inner face and this depression and the shaft 15 constitute substantial bearings for the hub 16 of a rotary disk or plate 0. This plate or disk I term, for convenience of description, the retriever disk. It lies close to the wall of the casing A and is freely rotatable upon the shaft 15. The retriever disk has, preferably integrally formed therewith, a large, hollow, cup-shaped portion 17, which is preferably circular in section and which provides a pocket or inclosure having a powerful coil spring D, this spring being termed, for convenience of description, the 'TGUIBVQI' spring. Referring to Figs. 3 and a, it will be seen that the outer end 18 of this spring is formed as a hook and is adapted to engage an instanding lug or shoulder 19 formed on the wall of the cup-shaped portion 17. The inner end 20 of said retriever spring is similarly formed, so as to engage one or the other of two radial shoulders 21, as the case may be, formed on the main stud or shaft 15. It will be noted particularly by reference to Fig. 8'

connected to the retriever disk and shaft 15,

tends constantly to urge the retriever disk in one direction of rotation, that is, in the direction indicated by the arrow X, Fig. 4;, and, as will later appear, in the direction to wind up the trolley rope. To restore or rewind the retriever spring D it is necessary, therefore, to rotate the retriever disk C in the opposite or reverse direction, that is, in the direction opposite that indicated by the arrow X. The retriever disk C, however, is normally held against rotation by its spring mechanism D, by means of a latch or locking device E, which is carried by the retriever disk C. It will be seen, by reference to the drawings, that the retriever disk has an annular flange or rim 22 outstanding from its face adjacent the periphery of the disk. An arcual portion 23 of this flange is enlarged and offset radially with respect to the rest of the flange and this offset portion has a peripheral slot 2 1, within which the latch or lock E is positioned. The latch E is pivoted at 25 and its outer edge or face is curved to conform to the contour of the offset portion 23, so that when the latch is in its tripped or unlocking position it will be entirely within the confines of said offset portion. When, however, the latch is in its locking position, one end 26 thereof projects beyond the offset portion .23 in positionto engage a fixed lug 27, thus locking or restraining the retriever disk C against rotation by its spring mechanism. The end 26 of the latch I will, for convenience of description, hereafter refer to as the lock end. The other end 28 of the latch E is considerably heavier than the lock end. so that whenever the latch occupies a position on the upper side, so to speak, of the retriever disk, gravity, acting upon this weight end of the latch will tend to throw out the lock end 26 of the latch in position to'engage the fixed lug 27. When, however, the disk is rotating under the action of its spring m chanism the centrifugal force, acting upon the weight end of the latch will retain the latch in its unlocking position, that is, it will hold the lock end 26 in so thatit cannot engage the fixed lug 27. It is thus seen that the latch, in a sense, is practically free from springs and other devices likely to get out of order, particu- 'ingly formed teeth 35 formed on thereof to the proper degree.

larly in a device of this character, which is subjected toconsiderable abuse in service. The tail Q9 of the latch rests upon the metal at the end of the slot 21 in which the latch is positioned. This limits the outward throw of the lock end 26 and prevents said lock end from coming in contact with the casing at any time. The trolley rope which is indicated by the dotted lines It is fastened at its upper end to the trolley pole and its lower end is wound upon and fastened to a service drum or reel F. This reel or drum is hollow and is journaled upon the cup-shaped portion 17 of the retriever disk so as to rotate independently of said retriever disk. The drum has two sets of broad radial 2 "ms 30, forming between them a large annular groove or space for the accommodation of the several turns of the trolley rope E. This drum also provides a pocket at its outer ends which is occupied by another spring G, which I term, for convenience, the service spring and which is similar to the retriever spring D, except that it is less powerful. The wall of the service spring pocket is tapered similar to the retriever spring pocket, so that the spring will constantly seek or hug the end wall of the drum and will not interfere with the operation of the retriever spring. The outer end of the spring is hooked to engage a lug 31 on the wall of the drum in the same manor that the retriever spring is arranged. The inner end of the service spring is also hooked in the same manner as the inner end of the retriever spring, but instead of engaging a shoulder on the shaft 15 itself, as the retriever spring does, it engages a similar shoulder 32 on a rotary sleeve or bushing 33, which is rcmovably mounted on a reduced portion 15 of the shaft 15. The in nor end of the sleeve or bushing 33 has ratchet teeth as which engage correspondthe shaft 15 at the juncture of said shaft with its reduced portion 15. The sleeve 33 is held yieldingly in engagement with the shaft 15 by means of a spring 36, which is positioned between. a flange 3? on the sleeve and the wall of a cup-shaped portion 38 of the cover, as shown clearly in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The outer end of the sleeve 33 is divided so as to accommodate the end of a lever 39, which lever is pivoted at -10 to the end of the sleeve. This construction provides a suitable and convenient means for winding or unwinding the service spring so as to adjustthe tension The longer arm of the operating lever 39 hangs clownwardly from its pivotal point so that it may be conveniently manipulated to rotate the sleeve 33 and wind up the service spring. In this position, however, it will readily be seen that the cover B of the device cannot be removed because said lever in such position will not pass through the opening 33 for the sleeve 33 in the cup-shaped portion 38 of the casing. Any attempt to remove the cover, therefore, will actuate the lever and tend to throw it or swing it into substantial alinement with the shaft 15. The short end d1 of the lever, however, is positioned in such manner that when the lever is rotated in this manner said short end will engage the end of the shaft reduced portion 15 and cause it to act as a cam to shift the sleeve longitudinally on said shaft 15 and disengage the ratchet teeth. The spring then will rapidly unwind before the cover is removed and it will thus be seen that this construction entirely obviates any danger of the spring flying out of its pocket or otherwise damaging the apparatus in disassembling the device. In other words, it is obvious that the service spring must be entirely unwound and in a spent condition. so to speak, before the cover can be removed. The service spring constantly urges the service drum in a direction of rotation to wind up the trolley rope R upon the drum. This spring is not powerful enough to overcome the usual spring mechanism at the base of the trolley pole (not shown), but said service spring is sufliciently powerful to maintain the trolley rope R taut during the operation of the trolley pole. In consequence, the service drum F will rotate in either direction in response to the fluctuations or movements of the trolley pole. This drum is provided with means which will respond to any abnormal fluctuation of the trolley pole and trip the latch E to release the retriever disk. In the construction shown there are four radial segmental blades or arms 30 at the inner end of the drum. Each one of them carries a pocket or cell 50 (see Figs. 3 and 1). These pockets or cells are positioned within and adjacent the flange or rim 22 of the retriever disk and they open substantially radially outward. Each pocket carries a small cylindrical shaped tripping ball or roller 51 which occupies, during the normal rotation of the drum, a position in accordance with the relative position of its cell. Fig. a illustrates the position of the four tripping balls when their respective cells are in the particular position shown in said figure. These balls are free within their cells and are subject both to centrifugal force and the action of gravity, and the parts are so proportioned that during the normal operation of the service drum these tripping rollers will have no effect upon the latch mechanism. Should, however, an abnormal condition in the operation of the trolley pole occur, such, for instance, as the trolley pole leaving the wire, the action of the spring mechanism at the base of the trolley pole rotates the drum and throws the balls outwardly. This movement is com- The centrifugal force due to the sudden violent rotation of the service drum acts upon the tripping rollers and throws them out agalnst the flange 22, and the tripping roller which happens at the'instant to be nearest the offset portion 23 where the latch E is positioned will, of

course, fly outwardly and strike the weight end 28 of the latch E, thereby throwing the latch E and relaxing the lock end 26 from engagement with the fixed lug 27. This releases the retriever disk and allows it to rotate in the direction of the arrow X to wind up the rope upon the drum. The particular tripping ball which actuated the latch also serves to temporarily interlock the retriever disk and service drum, so that the rotation of the retriever disk will be communicated to the service drum. The offset portion 28 is provided at one end with a curved shoulder 52, conforming substantially to the contour of the trip ping roller. The upper part of the tripping roller cells 50 are widened or lengthened out, so to speak, and are also provided with curved shoulders Thus, after the particular tripping ball has been thrown out and tripped the latch E, it will be confined between the curved shoulder 52 and the correspondingly curved shoulder of its own cell or pocket, and thereby interlock the retriever disk and service drum. The retriever disk will then carry the service drum with it and wind up the rope upon the service drum. The shape of the cell and the other parts are so proportioned as to render the device sensitive to those fluctuations in the trolley rope which render it necessary to retrieve the trolley pole. For this reason the walls 54 of the cells 50 are curved slightly so that the tripping ball cannot fly out on a direct radial line, but rather it must take a somewhat curved path. This construction renders the device somewhat less sensitive than if the balls were permitted to fly radially outward, but it also prevents likelihood of the balls flying out and tripping the latch during the normal operations of the trolley pole or during such slightly abnormal conditions in service as wouldi make it really necessary to retrieve the trolley pole. It happens often that the trolley pole leaves the wire and imparts to the service drum such a violent movement that the tripping ball strikes the shoulder 52 with a sudden violent blow. In consequence, the retriever disk might be given a reverse rotation before recovering itself and starting in the retrieving direction. This might, in fact, cause the retriever disk to rebound slightly under the action of the blow and cause its shoulder 52 and the particular cell shoulder 53 to separate enough to allow the ball to drop back intoits pocket. The effect of this condition would be simply to allow the retriever disk to run under the action of its spring without carrying the service drum with it, and the device might thereby fail in its operation. To avoid such a possibility is my object in widening or lengthening the mouths of the tripping ball cells so as to provide a comparatively long surface 55 upon which the tripping ball may rest. Thus, even though the curved shoulders do separate, the ball will still be maintained by the surface 55 in position to be again gripped between the shoulders without any possibility of the ball dropping back into its pocket. It will be remembered that the latch is tripped by the tripping ball striking the weight end of said latch, thus forcing the lock end of the latch in and releasing the retriever disk. Under the conditions above mentioned, however, after the ball has tripped the latch and the retriever disk has been given a reverse rotation, the latch might possibly return to the locking position before the retriever disk recovers and carries the latch past the lug- 27 in the retrieving direction of rotation. This is prevented when the ball rests upon the elongated surface 55, because the weight end of the latch has an elongated surface 56. In order to prevent the premature return of the latch after the ball has passed the tail of the weight end of the latch, I provide what I term, for convenience, a rebound lug 57, preferably formed integral with the wall of the casing A. This rebound lug is positioned at a slight distance from the fixed lug 27 and lies in the path of the lock end 26 of the latch. In the event, therefore, that the retriever disk. should be given a rebound rotation, as above described, the lug 57 will throw the lock end 26 of the latch inwardly again. Itis obvious that whenever rebound occurs the retriever disk is carried backward in a winding direction by the impact of the drum and rollers through a sufficient angle to enable it upon its recovery, under the action of the retriever spring, to accelerate to such a speed that the centrifugal force of the weighted end 28 of the latch E, aided by the rebound lug, will hold the weighted end of the latch in its outer position while it passes the stop 27. The retriever disk may also be released without rebound, provided the springftension is increased sufficiently, for then, when the speed of the drum in a direction to unwind the rope becomes sufficiently great to cause one of the rollers 51 to strike the under side 56 of the weighted end 28 of latch E and release it from engagement with shoulder 27, the retrieving rotation of the disk will begin before the roller 51 strikes the shoulder 52, and the rebound of the disk due to the impact following will not be sufficient to carry the latch E' backwardly past the shoulder 27 into'the locking position. This construction guards against any possibility of the latch being in its locking position before the retriever disk recovers itself and starts in the retrieving direction. When the retriever disk has gotten under way and carries the latch past the fixed lug 27 the centrifugal force acting upon the weight end of the latch will positively retain said latch in position during the remainder of the operation of the retriever disk.

A device of this character necessarily must be capable of being repeatedly restored to its normal condition, that is to say, after each time it has rotated and pulled down the trolley pole it must be capable of being conveniently and readily restored to its previous condition, ready for the next operation. This means then that the retriever spring must be rewound each time to the same degree of tension and hence the number of rewinding turns must be the same each time. To accomplish this I provide the retriever disk with latch restoring means and with timing or counting mechanism which operates the restoring means. In the structure shown it will be noticed that the retriever disk C has a spiral groove or scroll 60 formed in the face thereof, which is adjacent the rear wall of the casing A. This scroll may be formed in any suitable manner such, for instance, as by integrally casting a spiral rib on the face of the disk in such manner as to leave a spiral channel or groove between adjacent convolutions of said rib. A member or rider 61 is positioned in this scroll in such manner that as the scroll is rotated by the rotation of the retriever disk the rider will follow said scroll. The movement of this rider is preferably confined to straight radial line by means of a radial slot or opening 62 in the wall of the casing A. When the retriever disk is locked up under tension by the latch E the rider occupies a position, as shown in Fig. 5, in the outer turn of the scroll, also at the outer end portion of the radial slot 62. During the rotation of the retriever disk in the retrieving direction the rider follows the scroll and gradually moves toward the inner end of the radial or guide slot 62. Actuated by the scroll the rider moves in wardly a distance corresponding to the number of turns which are necessary for the retriever disk to pull down the trolley pole. Hence, when the retriever disk is rotated in the other direction to res ore it the rider will move outwardly in the slot 62 the same dis tance. At its outer limit of movement the rider controls the latch restoring mechanism, consequently the retriever disk may be repeatedly restored to the same operating condition. Assuming, now, that the retriever disk has operated and-pulled down the trolley pole, to restore the retriever disk the conductor pulls outwardly on the rope R and rotates the retriever disk in the opposite direction, that is, in the direction indicated by the arrow Y (Fig. 5). I provide a fiat leaf spring 63, one end of which is anchored to the casing A and the other end (it of which presses upon the lock end of the latch E and prevents the lock end of the latch from engaging the fixed lug 27. At its outer limit of its range of movement in the slot 62 the rider is adapted to actuate the spring 63 and force it against the wall of the casing, thus removing the springfromthe path of the latch. The spring 63 has a small tongue 65, which is positioned in the outer end of the slot 62 and in the path of a head 61 on the rider. This operation takes place preferably when the rider reaches the outer turn of the scroll and also the outer end of the radial slot 62. Since the spring 63 prevents the latch from en-.

27 until the rider has forced said spring out of the way, it follows that the conductor in restoring the device must necessarily pull on the rope and rotate the retriever disk until said rider does remove the spring 63 from the path of the latch. In order to provide a positive indicator to the conductor to advise him when he has finished the restoring operation, make the outer end 66 of the scroll closed, so that when this outer end of'the scroll reaches the rider 61 it will positively stop the rotation of the retriever disk. The conductor, upon noticing that he cannot rotate the retriever disk any further, knows that he has given the retriever disk the proper number of restoring turns. off on the trolley rope and allows it to rotate a slight distance in the retrieving direction under the action of its spring. He continues to ease off on the rope until the lock end of the latch E engages the fixed lug 27. He knows then that the device has been locked up. As soon as the latch E engages the fixed lug 27 it holds the retriever disk against further rotation, but the service drum will be free to rotate until it has Wound up some of the rope which the conductor pulled out. This action separates the shoulders 52 and 53 between which the tripping ball is retained and allows the trip ping ball to drop back into its pocket, thereby completely restoring the device to opera.- tive position.

The inner end 70 of the rider slot 62 (see Fig. 5) is broadened transversely to such an extent as to permit the rider to be passed through it for the purpose of insert ing or removing the rider. Th s, of course, is done when assembling or disassembling the structure. It will be noted that the latch. restoringand counting mechanism possesses the advantage ofadjustability -In other words, it maybe adjusted to operateat iny gaging the fixed lug He then cases predetermined number of restoring turns given to the retriever disk. This is obvious, for the reason. that when assembhng the I structure the rider may be inserted into the slot and moved toward the outer end thereof to a point corresponding to the adjustment to be made, and the retriever disk may then be placed in the casing so that the rider will be given a position in the particular turn or convolution of the scroll corresponding to the adjustment desired. Once this adjustment has been made there is no danger of it becoming disturbed until the structure is again disassembled.

I claim:

1. In a trolley retriever, a rotatable spring actuated retriever member having a spiral groove, a casing having a slot adjacent the groove, a lock to directly engage the casing for normally holding the member, means comprising a rider continuously positioned and movable both in the slot and in the groove and movable to a predetermined position for operating the lock.

2. In a trolley retriever, a rotatable springactuated retriever member with a spiral groove, a fixed member having a slot extending transversely of the groove, a latch for holding the member against the action of its spring, and means for preventing the re engagement of the latch after it has been released until the member ha been given a predetermined position by rotation in the reverse direction, said means comprising a rider movable both in the slot and in the groove, and also comprising a spring engaged by the rider in its outermost position.

3. In a trolley retriever, a rotatable springactuated retriever member having a continuous groove in one face, a fixed member with a slot extending transversely of the said groove, means for normally restraining the retriever member comprising a fixed lug and a pivoted latch attached to the retriever member, a spring adjacent the lug, and a rider movable in thegroove and in the slot to engage the spring in the outer position of the rider to permit the reengagement of the latch with the lug after its disengagement only when the retriever member has been given a predetermined position by rewinding.

4:. In a retriever, the combination with a rotatable spring-actuated retriever member having a spiral groove in one face, of a casing therefor having a slot extending transversely of the groove and with a lug at the periphery of the member, a spring attached to the casing adjacent the lug, a latch attached to the retriever member for normally engaging the lug, and a rider movable in the groove and slot for depressing the spring in the outer positionof the rider to allow the reengagement of the latch with the lug.

" 5. "In a retriever, 'th'ecombination with a rotatable spring-actuated retriever disk hav ing a spiral groove, of a'fixed casing having a slot transverse to the groove, and a peripheral lug, a latch pivoted to the retriever member for engaging the lug in one direction only and normally restraining the re triever member, means for directly engaging the latch to disengage it from the lug, a spring attached to the casing and positioned at the engaged side of the lug, and a rider movable in the groove and in the slot for engaging the spring in its outer position to permit the reengagement oi the latch after the retriever member has been rewound to a predetermined position.

6. The combination of a spring actuated retriever disk, a stop, an unbalanced latch adapted to be maintained out of engagement with said stop by the centrifugal force e2;- erted thereupon when said retriever disk is rotated, a device adapted to cause said latch to engage said step and hold the disk against rotation only after the disk has been reversely rotated to a predetermined position, and mechanism responsive to the fluetuating movement of the trolley adapted to disengage said latch and release the retriever disk upon theoccurrence of an abnormal fluctuation in the movement thereof.

7. The combination of a spring actuated retriever member, a stop, an unbalanced latch adapted to be maintained out of engagement with said stop by the centrifugal force exerted thereupon when said retriever disk rotates and a device adapted to cause said latch to engage said stop and hold the retrievermember against rotation only after it has been reversely rotated to a predetermined position.

8. The combination of a spring actuated retriever member, a-stop, an unbalanced latch adapted to be maintained out of engagement with said step by the centrifugal force exerted thereupon when said retriever disk rotates, a device adapted to cause said latch to engage said stop and hold the retriever member against rotation after it has been reversely rotated to a predetermined position, mechanism responsive to the fluetuating movement of the trolley adapted to disengage said latch and permit said retriever member to retract the trolley upon the occurrence of an abnormal fluctuation in the movement thereof, and a rebound stop adapted to prevent said latch from reengaging said stop upon the occurrence of a is active movement of said retriever member.

9. The combination of a rotary drum eonstantly tensioning the trolley rope and tending to wind it thereon,'said drum having a plurality of cells formed thereon and distributed circumferentially, a plurality of gravity restrained members ca'rriedin said cells and adapted to be impelledby the-centrifugall force developed by said 'drnm in response to abnormal fluctuations in the movements of the trolley, retriever mechanism adapted to be automatically brought into operation by said members when responding to said abnormal fluctuations, and retarding walls for said cells arranged to prevent the operation of said members except when said abnormal fluctuations occur.

10. The combination with a spring actuated drum constantly tensioning the trolley rope and tending to wind it thereon, said drum having a plurality of cells formed therein and substantially equally distributed circumferentially, of a plurality of members carried in said cells and adapted to be impelled by the centrifugal force developed by the rotation of said drum in response to abnormal movements of the trolley, retriever mechanism adapted to be automatically rendered active by said members when responding to said abnormal movements, and retarding'walls in said cells adapted to delay the action of said members whereby they will not eiiect said retract mechanism unless said abnormal movements occur.

11. The combination of a rotary retriever member, a fixed lug, a latch lever carried by said retriever member and having a lock end and a weighted end, said weighted end being adapted, under the action of centrifugal force developed by the rotation of said retriever member, to hold said lock end of the latch out of engagement with said fixed lug, means for causing the weighted end of said latch to throw the lock end thereof into engagement with said fixed lug when the retriever member has been given a predetermined position by reverse rotation, a service drum, around which the trolley rope is adapted to be wound, and means under the control of said drum for actuating said latch to release the retriever member.

12. The combination of a rotary retriever member, a fixed lug, a latch lever carried by said retriever member and having a lock end and a weighted end, said weighted end being adapted, under the action of centrifugal t'orce developed by the rotation of said retriever member, to hold said lock end of the latch out of engagement with said fixed lug, means for causing the weighted end of said. latch to throw the lock end thereof into engagement with said fixed lug when the retriever member has been given a predetermined position by reverse rotation, a service drum around which the trolley rope is adapted to be wound, and a tripping ball carried by said service drum adapted to be thrown against said latch by the centrifugal force developed therein by the rotation of the drum for releasing the retriever member.

The combination of a rotary retriever member, a fixed lug, alatch lever carried by said retriever member and having a locl: end and a weighted end, said weighted: end being adapted, under the action of centrifugal force developed by the rotation of said retriever member, to hold said lock end of the latch out of engagement with said fixedlug, means for causing the weighted end of said latch to throw the lock end thereoi into engagement with said fixed lug when the retriever member has been given a predetermined position by reverse rotation, a service drum around which the trolley rope is adapted to be wound, a tripping ball carried by said service drum adapted to be thrown against said latch by the centrifugal force developed therein by the rotation of the drum for releasing the retriever member, and means for causing said tripping ball to lock the retriever member and service drum together after the latch has been struck.

14. The combination of a rotary service drum to which a trolley rope is adapted to be attached, a plurality of tripping members carried thereby and adapted to be centrifugally impelled during the rotation of the drum, a retriever member and spring mechanism urging said member in one direction of rotation, a locking device normally holdin aid retriever member against rotation by its spring mechanism and adapted to be directly struck by one of said centrifugally impelled members and thereby actuated to release the retriever, and means to bar the action of said locking device until the retriever member has been given a predetermined position by rotation in the reverse direction, said means comprising a spring normally tending to occupy the space of the locking device in locking position.

15. The combination of arotary service drum to which a trolley rope is adapted to be attached, a plurality of tripping nzembers carried thereby and adapted to be centrifugally impelled during the rotation of the drum, a retriever member and spring mechanism urging said member in one direction of rotation, a locking device normally holding said retriever member against rotation by its spring mechanism and adapted to be directly struck by one of said centrifugally impelled members and. thereby actuated to release the retriever member, a scroll carried by said retriever member and having a plurality of turns, means comprising a rider actuated by said scroll during the reverse rotation of the retriever member for effect ing the resetting oi? said locking device, and a spring engaged by the rider thereby permitting engagement oi? the locking device.

16. The combination of a rotary retriever member, a locking device normally holding said retriever member against rotation, a service drum to which the trolley rope is attached, a plurality of centrifugally impelled trippers adapted to strike and actuate said locking device and to lock said retriever member and service drum for rotation together, and means forming substan-.

tially radial pockets each having a peripheral portion greater in length than the width of the tripper for preventing the displacement of said centrifugally impelled tripper after it has locked the retriever member and drum together.

17. The combination of a rotary retriever member, a locking device normally holding said retriever member against rotation, a service drum to which the trolley rope is attached, a plurality of centrifugally impelled trippers adapted to strike and actuate said locking device and to lock said retriever member and service drum together, and means forming pockets for said centrifugally impelled trippers, the walls of said pockets being elongated along the periphery to hold the centrit'ugally impelled trippers in relative locking position.

18. The combination of a rotary retriever member, a service drum to which the trolley rope is attached, a centrifugally impelled member for locking said member and service drum together for rotation in unison, and means forming a substantially radial pocket with one curved side and with the other side rorming a peripheral extension greater in length than the width of the said centrifugally impelled member for holding said centrifugally impelled member in looking position during rotative movement of said retriever member and service drum.

19. The combination of a rotary retriever member, a service drum to which the rope is attached positioned in juxtaposition to said retriever member, a centrifugally impelled member carried by said service drum, and a shoulder on said retriever member and on said service drum between which shoulders the centrifugally impelled member is confined after being actuated to lock said retriever member and service drum together for rotation in unison, and means forming an elongated surface upon which the centrifngally impelled member rests for holding said member in locking position during a relative movement of the retriever member and service drum.

20. The combination of a rotary retriever member, a service drum to which the rope is attached positioned in juxtaposition to said retriever member, a centrifugally impelled member carried by said service drum, and a shoulder on said retriever member and on said service drum between which shoulders the centrifugally impelled member is confined. after being actuated to lock said retriever member and service drum-together for rotation in unison, means forming an elongated surface upon which the centrlfu- .gally impelled member rests for holding said member in looking position during'a relative movement of the retriever member, and a locking -clev1ce normally hold-mg said retriever member against rotation and adapted to be struck by the centrifugally impelled member to release said retriever member.

21. The combination of a retriever member ber, a fixed lug adjacent the periphery there-' of, a latch normally projecting beyond the periphery of said retriever member and engaging said lug to hold the retriever member against rotation, means for actuating said latch to disengage it from said fixed lug, and means to permit reengagement of said latch when the retriever member rotates in the reverse direction, this means comprising a spring which tends to keep the latch from engaging the lug, and a member moved by the rotation of the retriever and operative in one position to engage and depress the spring so that the latch will reengage the lug.

23. The combination of a retriever member and spring mechanism tending to rotate said member in one direction, a fixed lug, an unbalanced latch normally projecting beyond the periphery of the retriever member and engaging said fixed lug, means for actuating said latch to position it substantially within the periphery of said retriever member to release said retriever member, and a rebound lug positioned adjacent said fixed lug for forcing the projecting portion of said latch within the periphery of the retriever memher when the retriever member is rotated reversely.

24. The combination of a retriever member and spring mechanism tending to rotate said member in one direction, a fixed lug, an unbalanced latch having one end projecting beyond the periphery of the retriever member and in engagement with said fixed lug, a service drum, means carried thereby for actuating said latch to throw its projecting end within the periphery of the retriever member and free from said fixed lug, and a rebound lug adjacent said fixed lug and p07 sitioned to force the projecting end of said latch within the periphery of the retriever member when the retriever member is rotated slightly in the reverse direction.

25. The combination of a retriever member, means holding said retriever member against rotation,' means for directly actuatiing said holding means to release the re triever member," andmeans comprising a spring normally tending to occupy the position of the holding means for preventing said holding means from again holding the disk after once having been actuated.

26. The combination of a retriever mem her and spring mechanism urging said retriever member in one direction of rotation, a latch normally locking said retriever member against rotation, means for actuating said latch to release the retriever member, means comprising a spring for maintaining said latch out of locking position during the rotation of the retriever member in the direction urged by its spring mechanism, and means comprising a rider moved by the retriever member and operable after the retriever member has been given a predetermined position by rotation in the reverse direction for actuating said maintaining means to prevent its interference with the latch.

27. The combination of a retriever member and spring mechanism urging said retriever member in one direction of rotation, a fixed lug, an unbalanced latch carried by the retriever member and normally engaging said lug to hold the retriever member against rotation by its spring mechanism, means for actuating said latch to disengage it from said lug and release the retriever member, means comprising a spring for pre venting the said latch for reengaging the lug during the reverse rotation ofsaid retriever member, and means operable after the retriever member has made a predetermined position by rotation in the reverse direction for actuating said spring and preventing the spring from interference with the latch.

28. The combination of a retriever member, an unbalanced latch adapted to be held out of locking position by the centrifugal force developed during the rotation of the retriever member in one direction, means operable after the retriever member has Gopiea 02 this patent may be obtained for been rotated reversely a predetermined number of turns to place the lock in looking 305i tion, and means for actuating the lock to release the retriever member.

The combination of a trolley retriever having a rotary member said member having an inclined Walled compartment, and a spiral actuating spring expanded against said Wall and by virtue thereof adapted to retain itself in said compartment.

30. In a trolley retriever, a rotatable grooved retriever disk and spring, a pivoted latch for normally holding the disk, a rider movable in the groove, means for confining the rider to a radial movement with respect to the disk, and latch operating mechanism to bar the reengageinent of the retriever disk, after its operation until the rider has been moved by the reverse rotation of the retriever disk to engage the latch operating mechanism.

31. In a trolley retriever, a rotatable grooved retriever disk and spring. a pivoted latch for normally holding the disk, a rider freely movable in the groove, latch mechanism to bar the reengagement of the retriever disk after its operation until the rider has been moved to a predetermined position, and a slotted casing adjacent the disk in the slot of which the rider engages limiting it to a radial movement with respect to the disk and permitting an adjustment of the rider in assembling the retriever disk so that it can be adjusted to operate the latch mechanism at any predetermined time.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses, on this 16th day of November, A. D. 1914.

WILLIAIVI G. STARKEY.

Witnesses:

JOHN L. YOUNG, GLENN H. BoLUs.

five cents ach. by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

